A man from the Adivasi (tribal, or Scheduled Tribe) village of Patara, 20km from Shivpuri, listens to a radio outside his home. A survey recently found that half of all adult Adivasi residents in Shivpuri listen to the radio several times over the course of a day. The Adivasis are traditionally ostracised and many of them are illiterate so rely on the radio for news, information and entertainment. ..Shivpuri district in Madhya Pradesh suffers from poor health outcomes. Of particular concern is the high rate of maternal mortality. One of the Indian government's aims, with partners Unicef, is to encourage the population to adopt practices to improve sanitation and health practices. In an area made up of traditionally disadvantage groups and suffering low literacy rates, this can be a challenge. ..A survey found that radio was the most readily accessible media by the Shivpuri community with more than half saying they tuned in several times a day. ..Dharkan 107.8 FM will go on air in July. The station that will broadcast to 75 villages in a 15-kilometer radius reaching 170,000 people...Rather than preaching educational messages, the station, which is already producing pilot programs, uses humor and folk artists performing in the local language to entertain and inform their audiences. There is a major impact, especially on women, who are contributing their voices to such wide-ranging issues as caste discrimination, female feticide and women,A?o?s empowerment. ..Photo: Tom Pietrasik.Shivpuri, Madhya Pradeh. India.June 2009

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